Chapter 3

Breathe in. Pause and hold. Breathe out. Repeat. Stiles followed his training regimen and focused entirely on his breathing, working to block everything else out. He had learned to deal with all of the random thoughts that normally distracted him using the method Kiran suggested of visualizing wrapping them up in a bottle and putting them to the side to visit later. Right now he was focusing on 'being' not on 'doing'. He had been able to reach his 'quiet state' much easier now compared to when he first started by following the book's instructions on 'grounding' and 'centering' and allowing himself to be open to whatever the universe would bring him.

He put aside his frustration with his best friend and his never ending infatuation with the beauteous Allison. He put aside his nagging guilt over lying to his father about what was really gone on with the supernatural. He put aside his confusion about Derek Hale, that infuriating, brooding, jerk with his scruffy beard that was just perfect enough to give him enough mystery to be intriguing without being hipster annoying all wrapped up in some of the tightest jeans and…okay that was not working, Stiles shook his head to bottle up those feelings that he definitely did not want to deal with today. He put aside the feelings of isolation and separation from the others and his hurt at being excluded by them.

Scott had mentioned the ogres a few days after Stiles had heard about it from Erica and finding out that Scott had been asked to help the pack without him had really hurt. Even though Scott's rather offhand account of the fight made it pretty clear there was nothing subtle or deep about the encounter. The ogres were brutes and the fight was just werewolf strength and claws versus the nearly mindless ogres so he grudgingly admitted that his Google skills were basically unnecessary to the fight. Didn't mean that it didn't hurt that no one even considered asking him to help out though.

Stiles shook himself and opened his eyes to focus on the candle in front of him as he went through the centering exercises again. He slowed his breathing and focused instead on his heartbeat. The book and Kiran had both mentioned trying to control his heartrate as a good meditation technique and Stiles had quickly thought that if could manage to do it effectively then he could use that skill to avoid being called out by the werewolves when he wasn't being entirely honest.

Soon enough Stiles slipped into what he had taken to calling his trance state, which was exactly where he wanted to be. Calm. Open. Steady. Upon reaching this state, Stiles whispered the words that were supposed to help focus his Spark on his objective. The words were not important, not like a spell, but rather they were simply a rhythm that allowed Stiles to convince himself that his powers were strong and working and would give him what he needed. He slipped into a comfortable state and finally managed to let go of all of his stress and instead just 'be'. It wasn't five minutes after getting there that Stiles suddenly felt an itch on his skin, like someone was watching him. But he was in his room, his dad was working, and no one from the pack had been by in weeks.

Finally unable to resist he cracked open his eyes to look around and saw a translucent man hovering in the air in front of him shattering his focus. "WHAT THE HELL!" he yelped out falling backwards as he scrambled to get away from the apparition. An apparition that looked almost as surprised to see him as Stiles.

"You can see me?" the man asked in surprise and Stiles remembered the domains of magic and wondered if this meant that he was a necromancer since he could see a ghost.

"Yes I can" Stiles stammered trying to look closer at the man. What was he wearing? Was that a cape and pajamas?

"That is unexpected" the man said as he sat down in the air, sitting crossed leg as he hovered over Stiles' bed.

"Are you a ghost? Do you maybe see a light?" Stiles asked and the man looked almost as irritated as Derek does when Stiles does something that makes the Alpha extra grumpy. This man was older than Derek, closer to his dad's age, with streaks of white hair along his temples, with a rather kick ass looking goatee to complete the look. Not the best facial hair he had…nope, not going there! But he didn't seem dead somehow.

"No. I'm still very alive. This is my astral body" the man explained. "I was fighting a sorcerer and I needed to send my astral form to gather information and my physical body was attacked while I was away."

"Is it okay….I mean are you okay" Stiles asked looking thoroughly confused.

"For now" he muttered. "I had cast a spell on my body to protect it, one that would prevent anyone from harming it with magic or any other means while I was 'out' but I was not expecting Mordo to attack how he did. He set up a spell that constantly attacks my shield, slowly draining my body's energy. He has also set a trap around it so that if I try to return to my body, it will strike my astral form and I am not strong enough to overcome it in this form."

"So what, you are going to just wait him out?" Stiles doesn't think that makes any sense but he admits he didn't follow everything the guy said, most of which was way beyond what he had read in his books.

"No. Normally my body could maintain the shield easily enough, but with my astral form also draining away that energy there is not enough to both maintain my astral form and power the spell protecting my body. I have some allies, but I am not sure that I am strong enough to reach them at the moment" the man admits regretfully.

"Okay. By the way, I am Stiles Stilinski" Stiles tells the floating man/sorcerer in his bedroom…wearing a cape…really?

The man looks and amused and snorts. "You were named Stiles? That's very….unique. Not surprising since we are in California I suppose."

"My real name is a nightmare to pronounce. Mom named me after her dad and he was born in Poland" Stiles says with a huff. "Everyone just calls me Stiles, it's easier that way."

"I see. Well I am Dr. Stephen Strange" the astral man said with a slight tilt of his head and Stiles snorted causing the man to look at Stiles with a bit of a glare.

"Really...your name is actually Strange and you are making fun of my name?" Stiles snarks and a chuckle though he can tell he scored a point.

"Anyways...I am trying to figure out how you can see me" Strange tells him. "You appear to possess some magic, but I can't exactly sense what you are. I had felt your presence and followed it hoping you might be someone who could help, perhaps a fellow sorcerer who was trained. But upon seeing you I amended that thinking you might be a budding sorcerer instead just coming in to your power but now that I look closer at you, you do not have the mark of a sorcerer."

Stiles sighs and crosses off another possibility on his mental list. "Yeah, I keep hearing that from people. They can sense my Spark, but can't narrow it down. The only ones left that haven't been eliminated are Alchemist or Necromancer" Stiles admits.

Stephen frowns. "That doesn't fit. Usually I can tell with people, but you are something different. You don't feel like either of those two, but you don't feel like any of the other ones either. This is most definitely confounding and at any other occasion I would enjoy taking the time to investigate but I am afraid I do not have the leisure right now. If I don't find a solution soon, Mordo will win."

"If you can't get back into your body…what about using another body?" Stiles asks looking at the man. "I mean, could you, I don't know, rest?, inside someone else so that you aren't being drained while you figure out what to do next?"

Stephen frowns thoughtfully. He looks at the teen and sees the magical potential he has and while he knows that the boy is not a strong sorcerer, there is something there. "Possibly" he finally admits. "The person would need to be willing as they would have to knowingly invite me in, possession would not work in this situation and I would not ever consider magic that dark. It would have to be someone with enough magical energy to sustain both of our spirits and finally, the person would have to understand that this kind of offer opens themselves up to me. I would be able to see their thoughts and memories as if they were my own, it can be very intimate and difficult, especially as I can control what I share, so it is definitely not an equal exchange."

Stiles frowns but he has a feeling about this guy. "You said no possession so I assume that you can't force someone" he asks carefully and Stephen nods, "well in that case, could you use me? It wouldn't hurt or anything right?" he asks suddenly nervous.

"No it wouldn't hurt. Since you would be a willing host, you would be able to expel me whenever you choose. Your body knows your spirit and it doesn't like other astral forms, it will fight for you not me" Stephen assures him. "You have the necessary magic to sustain us and it would only be for a short while. I could take the time to help you identify your magic and maybe even teach you some things in exchange for your assistance."

Stiles takes a few minutes to really think about this but there is something about Stephen that tells him to trust the man, that he is a good guy, and that there might never be a chance like this again for him. Finally he nods in agreement as the apparition drifts over and seems to dive into his body. The sensation is different from anything Stiles has ever felt before. It is both warm and cold, a feeling like light is flowing, entering his body by following the lines of his arteries and veins, but strangely enouch it is not painful. It feels more like he is so much more aware of his body than he ever was before. He feels the tingle in every inch of his body as he waits to see what happens next.

"Interesting" Stephen's voice sounds in his head. "You are truly unique my young friend. Your magic is like none I have ever seen or heard of before."

"What do you mean?" Stiles asks excitedly. Maybe now he can finally figure out what he really is and what he can do.

"I cannot detect any marks within you. It is like your Spark isn't for any form of magic. Normally a person has a single mark, for me it is Sorcery. If a person is strong enough with their gift, then they can recognize that mark in others. Then there are those very strong with the gifts that can sense marks other than their own. That is why your friend Martinique could only discern that you were not a witch, she wasn't strong enough to be able to recognize other marks. I have heard tales of some people having, in addition to their mark, a lesser or what some call a shadow mark, where a faint second mark is present that allows them to train and use that form of magic, though never as strong as their primary. I have even read of one woman several centuries ago who had three marks, all of them more like shadow marks than normal ones. You however are something different" Stephen says carefully as if he is working his way through it.

"So does that mean that I won't be able to do magic, I mean real magic, of any kind?" Stiles asks trying not to sound bitter or disappointed.

"Quite the opposite actually" Stephen replies sounding impressed. "It appears that your Spark instead of being constant as with everyone else I have met, is fluid. It seems that your Spark is always shifting between the marks so anyone who looks at you would only see what you are not. It would appear that while you will never rise to the upper power levels like myself in any of the arts, you instead possess the unique ability to work magic in all six areas and your strength is not minor, just unique. Somehow you can shift your Spark's energy around so that whichever magic you use is strong. For example, I would imagine that you will be a stronger witch than your friend, but not as strong as a High Witch or Warlock. The truth is that you are in fact a Witch, a Druid, an Enchanter (one gifted in Magecraft), a Necromancer, an Alchemist, and a Sorcerer. You my young friend, are something new as far as I can tell."

Stiles is stunned. He doesn't fully understand but he can sense the truth in Dr. Strange's words. He can tell that the other man is not just intrigued, but excited about what Stiles can do and he can even feel the older man's enthusiasm for what he found. "I want you to try and do this" he says and suddenly Stiles' mind floods with images and thoughts that he knows are not his, but they feel so right. Holding his hands together he reaches out and twists, pulling his hands apart and leaving a line of light in the air. Moving his hands the line becomes a box, then a circle appears, strange symbols suddenly flare up around it and somehow he knows that this is a shield of magic, capable of preventing any harm directed at him, magical or natural.

"Whoa – this rocks!" Stiles laughs as he moves his hands around, not exactly knowing how or why he is doing it but knowing it is right. Suddenly the shield is now two shields centered on his hands, moving with them like he is Captain America.

"Except that the Captain only has one shield" Stephen says with a smirk and Stiles can suddenly see a vision of Dr. Strange talking with Thor.

"You know the Avengers!" Stiles screams, not like a teen age girl at a boy band concert, no that is not how anyone would ever describe it, it was more of a manly bellow.

""Normally our paths do not cross. I usually let them handle the more physical dangers while I deal with the metaphysical ones, but I suppose at some point I will have to have direct interaction with them as we face similar threats. I did have a rather interesting meeting with Thor and his brother"" he says with a slight laugh. "The good news is that with how easily you picked up that first exercise, I think it will not take long for us to figure out how to disable the trap Mordo set. Shall we begin?"

Stiles smiled and adjust his stance. He was going to learn sorcery from someone who was almost an Avenger!